Gut Feeling
by drovers-sunrise
Summary: Tess' gut feeling is stronger than the logic that others offer after a Claire sighting.
1. Chapter 1

**Gut Feeling Part 1**

Tess saw her from a distance. At first she didn't believe it – her common sense wouldn't let her. But when their eyes met through the crowed at the Gungellan rodeo, she had no choice but to believe it. It was her sister. It was Claire.

Tess' ice-cream fell to the ground as she started to push her way through the crowed, towards her sister. The district's population had doubled due to the rodeo, making it nearly impossible to get anywhere without smashing into someone.

"Claire!" She called frantically as she hurried after her, "Claire!"

Suddenly she felt someone latch onto her arm.

"What's the hurry, Tess?" Nick asked, holding his wife still.

Tess ripped her arm out of Nick's hold and looked around desperately. Claire was gone. She wanted to scream! If Nick hadn't stopped her, maybe she could have caught up to her sister.

"Tess?" Nick could see that his wife was distressed.

She turned to him. It was useless trying to find Claire in the crowed – there were too many people. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Nick pulled his wife to the side, away from the noisy crowed. "What is it?" He asked.

"I ah…" She trailed off realizing how silly she was about to sound.

"What, Tess? What's wrong?"

"I just saw Claire amongst the crowed, Nick."

Nick wrapped his arms around his wife's figure and squeezed her lightly. "I know its hard being here without her… your memories are-"

Tess pulled away, "No, Nick… it wasn't a memory. I saw her here. It was Claire."

He tried to make her see sense, "It can't have been Claire. You know it can't have been her you saw. It was probably just someone who looked like-"

"She had the same hair Nick, the same face and the same eyes!" It was her sister, she just knew it was. "I know it sounds ridiculous and incomprehensible but I'm telling you it was her Nick!"

"Bit early for you two to be having a domestic isn't it?" Alex chimed in as he joined the couple. He could hear Tess shouting frantically from a few meters away.

"Yeah, Listen we might catch you later Alex… I reckon Tess and I should head off"

"But you're gonna miss the bull riding!" Alex whined "I'm gonna take the trophy and the prize money this year, ya know? Don't ya wanna whiteness that?"

"Nah… Tess isn't-"

"I'm fine Nick!" Tess exclaimed before storming off.

Alex watched Tess leave, and then turned to his brother, "What was that all about?"

Nick sighed and said, "Tess reckons she saw Claire in the crowed."

Alex chucked, "She what?"

"Yeah exactly… I dunno maybe it's the heat?"

"Maybe," Alex said shaking his head.

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Tess searched everywhere but she couldn't see Claire anywhere. She must've walked the grounds about five times when Nick caught up with her.

"Tess come on… you can't walk the grounds all day"

"I have to find her, Nick," Tess said firmly. She wasn't going anywhere until she found her sister – or as Nick put it 'someone who looked like her sister.'

"Tess, please," Nick begged. He knew Tess was just setting herself up for a fall. He didn't want this to continue – it would only end up causing her pain.

"If you're not going to help me look then leave me alone, Nick," Tess snapped. She was sick of his disbelief. She had seen her sister and she was going to find her even if she had to do it on her own.

"No. I'll help you look," He took her hand in an effort to make piece and they set off on their mission.

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Nick was growing tired, and he could see that Tess was too.

"Tess why don't we call it a day?" He asked softly. "We've been looking for hours and haven't seen a single sign of Claire."

Tess sighed and turned to him, "Give up, you mean?"

He shook his head. He could see the pain in her face, the desperation in her eyes. She wanted so badly to believe that her sister was alive and well, to believe that she would once again be re-united with Claire McLeod.

"No, not give up," Answered Nick cautious of what he said. "Maybe she's gone Tess… she could be anywhere. There aren't that many people here anymore and-"

"Yeah alright, Nick. I get it. You think I'm wasting my time don't you? You think I imagined the whole thing and that I'm nuts. Well let me tell you something – it was real Nick. I thought I was seeing things too until our eyes met. That's when I knew it was Claire. I felt it in my heart Nick – it was her. She isn't dead"

Nick shook his head again, "Let's just head home, yeah?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Gut Feeling – Part 2**

Every time Tess closed her eyes she could picture her sister's face. Claire's reaction to seeing her little sister was someone strange – it was almost as if she was scared.

Tess rolled over for around the hundredth time and sighed. She couldn't sleep. Her brain just wouldn't switch off.

All Tess wanted to do was find Claire. She was out there and she was alive – that's all that mattered to Tess.

Again Tess rolled over, trying to get comfortable.

Finally Nick sat up, "We aren't going to get any sleep tonight are we?"

"Sorry," Tess rolled over to face her husband. "I'm keeping you awake."

Nick ran a hand down his wife's cheek, "You gotta stop wondering about this Tess."

"I'm not wondering Nick. I know she's alive – all I have to do is find her."

Nick rolled his eyes and pulled his hand away, "I'm sorry Tess but I think you need to take a step back and look at the situation – look at yourself"

Tess, frustrated with Nick threw the blankets off and stood up, "I might go sleep in the spare room. You'll get some sleep that way."

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Everyone thought she'd imagined the whole thing. Why couldn't they just trust her? She knew her own sister for goodness sake! Alex even had his doubts. Of all the people in the world Alex should have been the first one to join the 'Claire's alive band wagon.' But he wasn't.

As Tess lay in her old room she remembered the conversation she had heard Alex and Nick having that evening.

"_So this thing with Tess…" Alex began "What, she really thinks she saw Claire?"_

"_Yep," Nick answered before taking a swig of his beer. "She's got this stupid idea that Claire survived. She's obsessed with the idea and it only happened a couple of hours ago."_

"_Look I know how she feels… if there was some hope… but there isn't. We all know that no one could have survived that plane crash, not even Claire."_

"_Well Tess thinks otherwise, mate," Stated Nick. "Because Claire's body wasn't found Tess is clinging to this idea."_

"_So there was no body – doesn't mean Claire survived. You need to get that through your wife's head little brother. You saw what it did to me when I wouldn't accept it… you better make sure she doesn't go down that same path."_

She couldn't believe the way they were talking. They had no trust in her what so ever.

Tess was on her own. But she was going to find her sister no matter how much support she had – or in this case didn't have.


	3. Chapter 3

Gut Feeling – Part 3

Nick shook his head as his wife came through their bedroom door looking tired and wearing the same look of disappointment that she had worn for the past few days.

Tess had spent the last three days driving around the Gungellan and Fisher areas in the hope that she would again see Claire.

All three days had been uneventful.

She had thought about stopping, showing pictures of Claire to locals and asking if they had seen her, but she hadn't done that. Everyone already thought she was crazy.

Nick closed the book he was reading, "You need to stop this," he told his wife as she sat down on the end of their bed "Look at you."

"I can't. You know I can't," She was beginning to sound like a broken record, much like her husband was.

Nick shook his head and again opened his book. Tess wasn't going to listen to him. She was hell bent on finding Claire.

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Tess had gone out again the next day. She'd left in a rush without so much as a goodbye.

Nick sighed as he sat at the computer rubbing his temples. His thoughts had shifted from business to his wife for the second time in the last half hour. He had done little of the tasks that he had set out to do.

"Need to talk about it?"

Nick looked up, dazed. It took a moment to register.

"Meg," He stood up to greet the older woman, taking her in his arms, relief washing over him at the sight of her.

"I heard whispers," She explained, holding on to Nick, knowing that he was feeling vulnerable. "I thought I'd better come back."

She wasn't used to seeing Nick so torn up.

He pulled away from her, "I just don't know what to do anymore…"


	4. Chapter 4

Gut Feeling – Part 4

Tess flew into the house, failing to notice the figure sitting with a coffee at the kitchen table.

"Tess we need to talk"

She stopped abruptly and turned to see her husband. The look on his face brought her down to earth with a thud.

"I can't live like this anymore," He told her.

A confused look appeared on her face, "What?"

"You're never here, and when you are you're this zombie…" He explained.

She just stared at him blankly. Was he walking out on her? "What are you saying?"

"I can't be here when you're like this, Tess," He told her straight out. "I've arranged to stay at Killarney with Alex and Dave…"

Tess shook her head as the tears began to build in the back of her eyes, "No."

She turned away. He was walking out on her. She couldn't believe that he was actually walking out on her.

"But I need you," She whispered through the now falling tears.

Nick shook his head and stood up. Reaching her, he placed his hand on her shoulder, "I'm here Tess… and I'm trying to help you but you just keep pushing me away…"

"Because you don't believe me, Nick"

"How can i? think about it logically Tess"

Tess turned to face him. Looking up at him with her tearstained face she whispered, "But you're my husband, Nick… Husbands are meant to believe in their wives. Why can't you just trust me?"

Nick stared down at her. He didn't want to say it but he had to… someone had to, "Tess… I think you need to… see someone."

He watched her face shatter in response to his remark and instantly felt regret.

"You think I need professional help?" She sobbed. Her husband was ready to have her commited.

She turned away, pulling away from his reach, "You go to Killarney," She cried, before rushing up stairs and into their bedroom.


	5. Chapter 5

Gut Feeling – Part 5

It had been two days. Two long days since Nick had left Drovers Run.

At their wedding ceremony he had promised Tess that he would be by her side always, through thick and thin. But where was he now? Hold up in a cottage with Alex and Dave, far from his wife's side.

The guilt was getting to him. He wondered if he had done the right thing. He had contemplated moving back home just to be near her, but he couldn't… he couldn't just go back on his word and sweep his issues with this situation under the rug.

Tess wasn't right. He hated admitting that to himself, but it was what he believed. She hardly resembled the woman that he had pledged his love to in front of all their friends and family.

"You ought to go see that wife of yours," Alex brought Nick out of his thoughts as he entered the kitchen with his empty coffee cup. "Meg was saying that she's stopped all that nonsense about Claire…"

Nick stared at his brother, "Why would she just drop it like that? She was so determined"

Alex rolled his eyes, what planet was Nick on? "Maybe it's because she realizes that her marriage is more important than some wild goose chase."

Nick just continued to stare at Alex, so Alex continued to give Nick what he classified as advice, "Ya know little brother, Tess… This is a bit of a tricky situation… But I reckon you should talk to her, tell her you love her and that, well that you're only trying to do what's best here."

Alex was right. Nick missed Tess and hated being apart from her. He stood up abruptly and left the room, leaving his half eaten breakfast behind.


	6. Chapter 6

Gut Feeling – Part 6

Tess had never experienced trying to fight for something that no one understood. With most of the battles she had faced in life, she'd had people supporting her. This time was different. She was in a lone battle.

But the battle for the truth about her sister had ended days ago. Tess had surrendered. She had waved the white flag.

Tess hadn't realized how obsessive she had become until Nick had walked out on her… until he had told her she needed to seek professional help. Her husband's words had knocked the wind out of her, but knocked some sense into her as well.

She didn't know who it was that she had seen at the rodeo that day, or if they were even real. Maybe it was just wishful thinking? Tess wasn't entirely sure. But the search had to stop.

Tess knew deep down that if it was Claire she had seen, they would find a way back to each other. Fate would bring Claire home.

"Hey," Nick stood in the study's doorway.

"I was just about to ring you," She rose from her seat and met him in the middle of the room. "I've been an idiot, Nick… I don't know what happened. I'm sorry"

Looking deep into Tess' eyes, Nick voiced his concerns, "You really scared me, Tess. I wanted to help you so badly, but there was nothing I could do to make you see what you were doing, how you were acting. All I could do was walk away…"

"I've stopped, Nick"

"I know," He whispered.

"I couldn't lose you over something silly like this. Nick, will you come home?"

Nick instantly wrapped his arms around his wife's figure, "Try and stop me."


	7. Chapter 7

Gut Feeling – Part 7

Nick and Tess were back on track now. It hadn't taken long for them to sort things out and get back to their normal married life.

Tess was trying to put the rodeo behind her, trying not to think about it. But it wasn't working. Something in her heart was telling her not to let go of the idea that it was indeed Claire she had seen that day.

But how could she resume her search after everything she had put herself and Nick through? Could she gamble her marriage like that again?

"I'm off, Tess"

She looked up from the task of milking Madonna to find the very man she had been thinking about.

"The farmers council meeting," He told her.

"Oh!" A light bulb switched on in Tess' head "I'm sorry I totally forgot that was today"

He laughed and bent down to kiss her goodbye, "I'll see you when I get back"

As she watched him walk away she realized that the gamble just wasn't worth the risk.


	8. Chapter 8

**Gut Feeling – Part 8**

Tess looked up from her seat on the veranda as she saw Vince Lavice drive in. She wondered why he wasn't at the farmers council meeting.

"G'day Tess," He smiled, taking his hat off, standing before her.

"Hi Vince… Nick's not here, he's at the farmers council meeting… shouldn't you be there too?" She asked, assuming that he was there to see Nick as he always was.

Vince shook his head and took a seat across from her at the table, "I overheard Nick and Alex talking in town the other day… and when I saw these," He pulled an envelope which looked to have photos in it, from his pocket "I thought I'd better show you."

Vince brought the photo's out of their envelope as he continued with his explanation, "I took some photos of Alex riding in the rodeo… but look what else was captured, Tess"

Tess searched the top photo after taking it from Vince's hand, "Oh my god"


	9. Chapter 9

_Righto here is part 9. I hope those of you that are reading this fic enjoy it :)_

_**Emsta: **Claire died in a plane crash mate. This is fiction remember._**  
**

**Gut Feeling – Part 9**

Tess thought about turning the car around several times. It was only earlier that day that she had decided that her marriage was too important to risk. Yet here she was, risking it.

She pulled up as soon as she saw him.

Getting out of the car she rushed towards him, "Alex! Alex!"

He turned, instantly stopping what he was doing at the sound of urgency in his sister-in-laws voice.

"Look at this," She shoved the pile of photos in Alex's face. "Look at this and tell me what you see, Alex."

He stared down at the photo then back at Tess, "I see the best bull rider in the district, Tess. I didn't know you took photo's…What's this about?"

Tess shook her head, frustrated with Alex's light mood, "It's Claire, Alex… in the background."

Alex shook his head, handing back the photos, "Not this again, Tess. I don't want to go back there again."

"Just look, Alex!" Tess shoved a photo in his face, pointing to the spot in the background where Claire stood watching Alex ride, "It's her! Look."

Alex stared at where Tess' finger was resting. It wasn't long before he'd taken the photo from Tess' hand and was examining it more closely.

"It looks like her…"

Tess rummaged through the rest of the photos and pulled one from the pile, "This one's easier to see, Alex. They zoomed in on it at the photo lab."

Alex took the photo from Tess. Examining it closely something within him twigged into life.

"So what are we gonna do about this, Tess?"

"We?" A moment ago Alex had wanted nothing to do with this.

"We gotta find her and bring her home," Alex whispered.


End file.
